Fort Thomas has a borderline semi-arid climate bordering upon an arid climate characterised by very hot summers and winters with mild days and cold nights. Although frosts are frequent during the winter, occurring on an average of 60.2 nights during December, January and February, snow is exceptionally rare with a median of zero and a mean of. Daily temperatures are comfortable during winter – only 5.6 days do not top – but heat up rapidly as summer approaches, with half of all days by May topping and 35.5 days topping during an average entire year. Rainfall is rare, with monsoonal storms much less frequent than higher up or further south. Easily the wettest month since records began in 1966 has been January 1993 when fell – the only other totals above over a single month being in October 1983 and in October 2000. The wettest calendar year has been 1978 with and the driest 1989 with.
Demographics
History
The earliest military presence in the area was former Camp Goodwin, constructed in 1864 and named for Arizona's first territorial governor, John N. Goodwin. The camp was abandoned after a short time due to failed buildings and malaria from a nearby spring. In 1876, the current site of the community was chosen as a "new post on the Gila," selected to replace Camp Goodwin during the Apache Wars. Initially, the site was named Camp Thomas in honor of Civil WarMajor General George Henry Thomas. Until 1882 the area would be known by several names including Clantonville, Camp Thomas, Maxey and finally Fort Thomas. At its peak, the fort consisted of 27 buildings, all constructed by the occupants of the fort and made of adobe. Malaria remained a problem throughout the occupation of the area, and led to Fort Thomas being called the "worst fort in the Army." The fort also had no government funding until the year 1884. After the capture of Geronimo in 1886, the Army gradually removed the troops stationed there until the fort was handed over to the Department of the Interior in 1891. The early town had a poor reputation, and was home to several houses of prostitution and saloons. Camp Thomas was to be the destination of the pay wagons involved in the Wham Paymaster robbery of 1889. In 1895, the community grew significantly when the Southern Pacific railroad's construction in the area was halted due to native Apache people refusing to let the railroad continue construction through their reservation. During this time, Fort Thomas also hosted a Wells Fargo station.
